Happy Anniversary, Right Ink On The Wall – How To Party With Very Inspiring Bloggers

It’s my one-year ‘blogiversary’ here at Right Ink On The Wall and what better way to celebrate than with an award?!

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award

This shiny award has been bestowed upon me by the lovely Deborah Makarios, who was one of the first ever readers & commenters here on my blog. This was back at the beginning, when I knew her only as Sinastra Inksteyne (and I still haven’t met a better pen name!). I’m always wildly happy when new people from around the interweb pop up and comment, because it means I get to discover them. Deborah’s blog is an eccentric and aesthetic place to be, never more so than when slaying Jabberwocks and exploring fantastical taxidermy. And I will be forever grateful to her for being a guinea-pig beta reader for The Night Butterflies and providing such valuable feedback.

This here award has some rules:

1) The nominee shall display the Very Inspiring Blogger Award logo on her/his blog, and link to the blog they got nominated from.

2) The nominee shall nominate fifteen (15) bloggers she/he admires, by linking to their blogs and informing them about it.

My Nominees

My nominees needn’t feel pressured to accept this award (I know these accolades aren’t everyone’s cup of tea), but it makes me so happy to have been hailed as inspiring – it means I’m making the right mark, and I’d love to let you know whose writing out there fills me with energy, happiness and hope. So without more ado, the following are some of the wonderful, inspirational folk I’ve met since starting this blogging malarky (in alphabetical order – just because):

Aussa Lorens makes me laugh every single time she hits publish. I was lucky enough that she found me and left a comment here when she’d just started blogging, so I ended up getting to read every one of her blog entries in real time. She’s known as Hacker Ninja Hooker Spy for a reason – and if that doesn’t intrigue you I don’t know what will! There are 5 parts to this particular strand, but I dare you to stop reading. It starts with one of four Cross Examinations…

Barbara Glass is new to this interwebious world of blogging, but she’s a natural. She inspires me with her humorous take on life, sharing off-kilter stories like this one – The Ancient Order of _ilts, _ettles & _ites (also known as a story not using the letter ‘K’).

Christina Anne Hawthorne is one of the loveliest ladies you’ll meet on the internet. She writes fantasy and she’s also a talented, published poet. This is one of my favourite poems – Fire.

Helena Hann-Basquiat has a way of twining fact and fiction together to form Truth that is as unique as it is entertaining. I was honoured to host her here when she released her three-part story Postcards from California. But I first discovered her with a two-parter Valentine’s Day post, which blew me, and the rest of WordPress, away – I Know Very Well How I Got My Name.

Jami Gold is many wonderful things and one of the most wonderful is a fantastic teacher. She doesn’t just write about craft – she is incredibly generous with her time, resources and expertise and actively helps you become a better writer. Jami’s posts also ask brilliant questions, like this one – Do our favourite stories read as children affect our writing as adults?

Kat Kinnie is just an all-round inspirational person; merely being around her words means you absorb positive energy, as if by osmosis. It was she who suggested I start a blog in the first place. This is one of my favourite posts by her, in complete harmony with the mission of my business, encouraging people to write words on the wall of the world – Dare To Dream.

Kelly Roberts loves bubble wrap. But there is oh-so-much more to her than that. She tells stories from life with wit and wisdom (and, yes, bubble wrap). Here’s one of my favourite posts – Declaration of Independence… From Bucket Lists.

Kristen Lamb is my hero. She founded WANA (which stands for We Are Not Alone), a community of writers supporting each other, playing together, and learning from one another. Many names on this page would be lost to me had I not discovered Kristen and her wonderful work and way of bringing welcoming, friendly, talented people together for fun like WANACon. Here is an example of how she socks it to you in just one of her powerful posts – Are You A ‘Real’ Writer? Is This Even The Correct Question?

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an incredible writer. Her stories take me somewhere else and stop me breathing. Every Monday, she gives a short one away – it’s on the site for a week, or you can sign up to have it arrive by email. And if you’re a writer yourself, the resources she’s written and made available are incomparable. Here’s a passionate post that proves my point – Storytelling. And, just because I can – here’s the link to tempt you with one of my all-time favourite short stories – Folk Lure.

Marcy Kennedy is a brilliant writer and beyond-valuable editor. She has a Masters in theology, like me. I loved the way she posed a recent question on her blog by tying it in with the latest X-Men movie – Do You Believe In Fate or Free Will? The suspense eBook mentioned at the end, Frozen, knocked my socks off, and not in a Disney way.

Piper Bayard is a thrilling writer who writes one of the most unique blogs I’ve come across with her partner, ex-intelligence operative Holmes. It’s so sharp it will cut you and leave a scar. This is one of my favourite shocking ‘The End is Near’ posts – The End Is Near (And We Deserve It)… Funeral Selfies.

Sara Letourneau is not only someone with a brilliant name but someone I will be forever happy to have met. She writes fantasy and blogs about music, tea, books, craft – she knows so much about so much! She is a soul after my own heart and someone who spent an amazing amount of time beta-reading for me, providing detailed feedback worthy of a paid edit – and then even wrote an article on manuscript critique based on the experience!

Through The Wardrobe is a blog offering beautifully written, honest book reviews by Libby, who explores books like special treats while working in publishing and gaining a Masters in children’s literature. One of my favourite non-review posts is a touching call-to-arms on a subject close to my heart and former home – The Beauty of The Independent Bookshop.

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Happy Birthday To Me!

So it’s been one year of blogging. Wow. I really don’t know how it happened. Since realising, I’ve flapped about a bit, wondering what to say about it all. Going from the suggestion of starting a blog to having amassed a year’s worth of weekly entries feels like quite an achievement. Before I started, I wondered what I’d ever find to write about, but a lot of life happens on a weekly basis, and sometimes posts even write themselves. As with so many things in my life, I didn’t have a plan, so didn’t organise categories, but I’ve been back over my plethora of posts and seen them slot into subject matter much in line with what I envisioned back at the very beginning – happiness, hope, a bit about books, a bit about business, and a bit about making the world a better place. I’m going to round this off by saying to you now what I said to (significantly fewer of) you then:

One of the messages of these posts is that hope without action is futile. If we want to change something in our lives, or change everything about our lives, we have to do something about it. I spent a lot of time moaning about things and hoping that things would be better one day. It was a bit of an epiphany when I realised I could do anything I wanted to and that the only thing stopping me was myself.

I (still) like the blogs that end on a question. I’m going to ask my anniversary question every year: What do you hope for? And what are you going to do about it? I currently hope to be a published author… And I’ve just ordered my ISBNs…

24 thoughts on “Happy Anniversary, Right Ink On The Wall – How To Party With Very Inspiring Bloggers”

First, Happy Anniversary!! I’m about eight months behind you, but YOU give me hope that I’l be able to stick it out long enough to hit the one-year mark (and hopefully many more).

I love the paragraph from your initial venture into the blogging world: “Hope without action is futile ….[and] the only thing stopping me was myself.” That is definitely an epiphany.

More of what I hope is that I too will be a published author (next year, that’s my plan), that the new venture my husband and I are embarking on will be as successful as we think it will be, and that as my daughter creeps into her teenage years (starting next month) that the sweet, empathetic girl she is remains when she claws her way out of those dreaded year.

Second, I must thank you for your nomination. When I look at and recognize some of the names mine is nestled amongst, I am humbled, especially since I’m such a baby blogger compared to the more experienced bloggers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Yay! You’re welcome 🙂 I enjoy your blog so much – I’m so glad Kristen linked to it that first day so I could find you! I can’t see you not making it past the one-year mark and far beyond – I wish you luck with all your hopes and really look forward to your books!

Awwwww. 🙂 Thank you so much for the recognition, Sara. But even more importantly: Happy Blogging Birthday / Anniversary! Best wishes for many more to come.

I also agree with what you said about “Hope without action is futile.” If you want something to happen in your life, you can’t passively hope for it. You have to act on it; you have to go do it. If you want to write a book, then write a book. If you want to get it published – well, the to-do list gets quite a bit longer then, but you just have to go do it. I’m glad to hear that making that one small change has had a big effect on your life. And I have a feeling that the upcoming release of The Night Butterflies will mean even more good things for you.

I don’t mean to copy one of Kelly’s hopes, but my greatest one at the moment is becoming a published author. It’s going to be a slow road for various reasons – and I still want to try the traditional route first before opting to self-publish – but I’m willing to be patient and to work as hard as I can to get there.

Thanks Sara 🙂 I think patience and hard work are the way to go! I can’t see you not succeeding at everything you hope for, you’re so thorough and giving – it’ll be a happy day when everything comes to fruition!

Thanks Diana! Ah best of luck with the MS and all the ‘nearly there’ stuff! It’s exciting and nerve-wracking in equal measure! My fave’s the book cover bit – that’s when it stated to feel real lol.. Wishing you every success 🙂

Happy Everything, Sara, for your accomplishments are many, though they’re dwarfed by the great future awaiting you. Your tributes here were heartfelt and my heart was moved to have been included in such an astonishing list. Thank you. WANA has given me much and continues to give.

I’m glad to hear you’ve ordered your ISBNs. That’s an exciting moment. Still, please be careful, for they require great care. Too much sun and they’ll fade and excessive rain renders them blurry. Treat them right and before you know it they’re fully grown and looking back at you from a back cover. Ah, what a proud parent you’ll be then! 🙂

Happy Anniversary! And I’m glad you are encouraged by the award – accolade fully deserved, in my opinion! You certainly inspire me.
I hope to purge my life of varying forms of dross – and (do I detect a theme here?) become a published author. Or at least finish this book, which I seem to have been writing for years! So now I’m going to curl myself around a hot tea and a fountain pen. And then chuck some stuff out later 🙂

Thanks so much, Deborah! You sparked a lot of happiness over here at the wall! And there’s a lot of determination bouncing around – it’s catching! Best of luck with the book – I can’t wait to read it 🙂